After a disappointing outing with the national team recently, Robin Singh made a memorable ISL debut with an away goal against FC Pune City. The Delhi Dynamos striker has brought more firepower to his side, who also have the services of Brazilian Gustavo Santos and Richard Gadze of Ghana upfront.
Former France international Florent Malouda, Dutchman Hans Mulder and ex-Liverpool defender John Riise add to the profile of the team coached by Roberto Carlos but the 25-year-old Singh believes nobody is the shadow of anyone else.
Delhi have nine points after four games and are second behind Pune City on goal difference. Mumbai City have just one point in three games in comparison and are hit hard by injuries to striker Nicolas Anelka and midfielder Brandon Fernandes.
Robin hit an optimistic note ahead of their clash with hosts Mumbai City FC at D.Y. Patil Stadium on Wednesday.
Excerpts: On being a part of ISL now after missing Season One: If wasn’t frustrating. I was with Bengaluru FC, focussing on winning a championship. But I am happy to be a part of the ISL this year. I am just like a little child who loves playing football.
On his ISL start after a disappointing show with national team: After the loss with the national team, we focused on the task ahead. It was a very happy moment to be scoring on my debut and has given me the confidence to play the remaining games with more motivation. I thank my coach and team-mates for this.
On working under Roberto Carlos: It’s an honour and privilege to be playing alongside Roberto Carlos.
On being part of a team of stars: We are all equals in the team. Nobody is the shadow of anybody. For anybody including me to the younger Indian boys. We are all a family and we play to win together.
On the game against Mumbai City: We want to keep the winning momentum going. But we are not going to take any team lightly. We respect Mumbai FC. And I am sure their going to come out looking for a win against us. We are aiming for three points. Getting those points is more important than getting our name on the score sheet.
On his goals for the current season: Carlos just expects me to play to my best capacity and my goal for this season is to do just that and score as much as I can for my team. And he’s told us to go out there and play with our heart and enjoy the game.
